What is love?
by purrinsky
Summary: Non-canon. Post-Digimon Adventures Season 2. YamatoXOC Taiora Yamato is in love with Sora. Taichi is in love with Sora. Sora is confused. And because this love triangle isn't complicated enough, let's throw in Natsuhi, Yamato's other best friend, who is secretly in love with him. What is love? Love is messed up.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I've been rewatching Digimon lately and after so many years, I still think Sora should have ended up with Taichi. So here's my take on this crazy love triangle.**

**Disclaimer: For all the love I have for Digimon, it is not mine. **

She twirled the drumsticks in her hands carelessly, it is more of a habit by now, more than anything. She stared at the solemn boy…no man, before her. Several empty beer cans sat next to his feet as he scribbled a few more notes on the score-sheet. It is going to be another one of those nights again…

"Don't you think that's quite enough?" She piped up. The rest of the band had long since left, she wanted to leave too, but how does one leave their own house?

"Sorry, I can go somewhere else…" Yamato started and winced as the drum sticks mercilessly made contact with his head.

"That's not what I mean," Natsuhi sighed. The idiot. "Are you going to tell me what this is about or do I need to get you completely wasted?" They had school the next day after all, the threat carried weight.

"You probably already know what this is about," the blonde started.

She nodded then shrugged. Yes, she knew who this is about, but not what.

"It's Sora," he sighed as he chugged the rest of his beer. Absent-mindedly, he wondered if she will break out the hard liquor he knew she kept in her cabinets. Bottles of them, he often pondered about their existence, she was never much of a drinker, not that she could not hold her alcohol…but it was not a love of hers, as far as he was aware.

Natsuhi schooled her expression to that of a neutral but attentive listener, but if Yamato squinted, which he never does, he would have noted the extra-force in her twirling drum-sticks when he mentioned the name, 'Sora'.

Then the story poured, as it always does. Sora, Yamato's long-time girlfriend and her ambiguous friendship with Taichi, Yamato's long-time best friend. The little hints that she drops that she never means to, for example when they went to the haunted mansion together, she would always latch onto Taichi when something surprises her, a purely instinctive reaction that she probably could not help even if she tried. And the Yamato will tip is head back and laugh bitterly. He knew why she chose him, because they never fight.

Sora and Taichi got along like a volcano and tornado…actually, more like two volcanoes, given the common element of fire between their partner Digimons. They cannot go for 15 minutes without breaking out into an argument or another, and the tension, the sexual tension between them often becomes so palpable Yamato wonders why they even keep up this farce of a relationship.

But she was the perfect girlfriend, so caring and loving. Always supportive and understanding, willing to talk and work things out, not to mention sex was good. Not that he would know better, she was all he has ever had…

Natsuhi listened to the story with great patience and understanding, the same way she has for the past twenty over times it has been told. Then she would stare at those muted blue eyes and wonder if he knew the flipside of this already dramatic soap opera of a situation.

Her.

Does he never wonder why she is always there, sitting with him into the wee hours of the morning regardless of work and school. Why her door is always open for him. Or those little banters she carries only with him, and little touches she shares for no one but him…like now.

"You know she loves you," she let the partial lie slip through her lips effortlessly. Yes, Sora loves him, just not in the way he wants her to. Casually, she reached out to take the empty can from his hands, brushing against his cold hands in the process. As her cold hands touched his, she chuckled inwardly. Yamato has always portrayed himself as the cool one, if Taichi and Sora were fire, he was ice…blue epitomized him, like his crest, his eyes…But she knew better. The cold he exudes is only outwardly, inside, Yamato burned, a flame hotter than anyone else's, a fire that ran so hot, it has turned a deceptively cold color of blue.

This was why he was aching, because he had chosen to love Sora with the passion of a burning flame that no one knew. No one but her. And it hurts Natsuhi as much as it hurts him.

The can sloshed softly in her hands, an almost pathetic amount of residual beer, she noted. Just enough to act as an excuse for what she was about to do. Bringing the cold beer can to her lips, she tipped her head back and let the bitter liquid pass through her lips. His warring heart would just assume she wanted to waste nothing, but the truth was much sillier. She just wanted the indirect touch of his lips.

Yamato knew that she would not hug him, her comfort was never one of direct touch. Little did he know that she always marvelled at her self-control, having the object of her desire sit and even sleep in her room, in his most vulnerable state and not tempt him into straying…not even to touch him beyond the slight brushing of skin.

Today though, Natsuhi thought, she would let that self-control go, just a little. Enough to loosen her tongue to say what she really thought. Because she was only human, and she could not support the pretence that was hurting him more than it was saving him anymore.

"You want to know what I really think," she asked, twirling her drum-sticks one last time before setting them on the bed with a sense of finality.

Her tone of voice had him sitting up straighter, blue eyes focused and piercing into hers.

"You haven't been telling me what you really think?" He accused, though not truly angry.

"I haven't thought of what I am thinking now until…now," she argued; he accepted the explanation and stared at her, prompting her to continue. "I think that she loves you, just not in the way she thinks she does, not in the way you think she does. But who can blame her, you are easy to love. On the surface, there is nothing wrong with your relationship, you guys are perfect together. But that perfection came at a price. She fights with Yagami so much because she sees him for who he really is and vice-versa. They see each other for all their strengths…and flaws, but they both are not ready for that level bond with another human being, well, she isn't, he's just patronizing her. To her, love is something that needs to be needlessly healthy. A relationship cannot be marred by fights, by mistakes, by imperfections. But no human is perfect, and to truly see a person for who they are, is to see their imperfections…when that happens a couple will fight, until the pieces have grinded enough to fit together. She has been scarred though, by the failure of her mother's marriage. She feels that any fight, any disagreement are signs of a doomed relationship, so falsely believes that the love that you two share is real. But she doesn't see the real you and you don't dare to break down her walls and reach into the real her because you can't bear to lose her…because you were hurt too as a child," you trailed off, looking past his blue eyes and into the wall behind him.

Her brain continued the speech inwardly; continuing any further out loud would simply bore the blonde. Natsuhi did not bother reigning her thoughts in however, her mind continued to psychoanalyze the parties in the situation without her consent. People often joked that her mind had a mind of its own, and she could not agree more. Just part and parcel of being a psychology major.

A confused silence hung in the room, almost awkward but not quite, then he spoke up.

"You think I'm easy to love," Yamato stated more than he asked, as his blue eyes pierced hers for the second time that night. She watched his brain do mental summersaults at his own statement through his eyes as hers redirected its focus to assess the new status quo.

The turbulence behind his eyes stilled and she both rejoiced and sighed. He had figured out her secret, perceptive as he is, but had chosen to be in denial of his own conclusion. She now had a choice, to help him cast aside his veil of denial, or to continue leaving him in the dark.

"Oh but you are easy to love," she teased, neither confirming nor denying his suspicion.

"You psychology types," he muttered with a roll of his eyes and ran his hand through his hair, a habit she noted he had whenever he was annoyed or irritated. It would seem that denial won out for today.

"Bed?" Natsuhi asked.

He nodded and climbed onto the queen sized bed, leaving more than enough room for another.

Natsuhi shook her head wryly. It could not be helped though, she supposed. The studio apartment, though spacious was already fully occupied by her desk and shelves. What little space left for the couch was greedily taken up by her drum-set. Neither of them could possibly sleep in chairs, and she had no extra blankets or futon for the floor. Yamato would assume that she was simply too lazy or busy to make the purchase. She knew better, she just wanted an excuse to share a bed with him, no matter how far apart.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: For all the love I have for Digimon, it is not mine.**

Yamato knew she was a light sleeper, but he had discovered that when it was just him and her, she slept heavily. Enough for him to cuddle up to her and steal her warmth in the cold morning. He found it ironic, in an adorable way, Natsuhi is always so cool and aloof, even more so than him, yet in her sleep, she is incredibly warm.

He knew it was wrong, to hold another woman in his arms when he already had one of his own, but the hurt part of him childishly sought physical comfort that she simply would not give when she was awake. Or would she…He toyed with the words she had gifted him last night, 'you are easy to love'. But there could be no way, there were no signs, beyond her sleeping habits with him, and that was easily explained by her deep-seated trust in him. Trust that she had chosen to give after peering into his soul with those deceptively unfocused eyes.

He lingered in her warmth only a little longer before shuffling back to his side of the bed and waking up to make breakfast. For all her calmness, Natsuhi was not a morning person, especially not when they have late nights like these.

He keeping an eye on the fish frying in the pan, Yamato opened the cupboard above and grabbed himself a cup without looking. He had become so familiar with Natsuhi's kitchen over the many late nights he had stayed. Part of him felt guilty for imposing on the girl so often, but little voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like her admonished him for being stupid. 'What are friends for?' She would say in such a matter of fact way that he could do nothing but agree. The crest of friendship evidently haunted him in more ways than one.

Ladling the last of the miso soup into the bowl, Yamato looked at his handiwork with pride. "You'll make a great housewife," a sleepy voice commented. Yamato turned to look at the source of the sound, her.

"You say it like you can't cook," Yamato retorted. Natsuhi shrugged non-committedly before taking a seat at the table, taking in the delicious smells of the Japanese breakfast before her. Yamato shook his head slowly, dropping the subject completely and joining her for breakfast. "What are you doing after class today?" He asked. Despite being in different majors, they were both taking the same course on socio-cultures this term. "

"Why?" She asked, Yamato almost never asks about her schedule.

"Well, the guys are having a gathering tonight, I was wondering if you had nothing to do, then maybe you'd like to join us?" He replied carefully.

Natsuhi's chopsticks stopped in mid-air for a moment, before continuing its journey to the perfectly fried salmon. Inwardly, she sighed. 'The guys' meant the digidestined, a group of people she barely knew, much less fit in with. But she knew the hidden request behind Yamato's invitation, he didn't want to see Sora and Taichi together, at least not by himself. She wondered how she got herself involved in this mess in the first place. Oh right, she was in love with the blonde hair, blue eyes heart-throb sitting across from her. Her rational screamed for her to decline, but honestly, the decision was made before Yamato even asked. "What do you think I should make for the party? Roast beef or chocolate cake," she asked as a form of reply.

Yamato smiled and let out a breath he did not know he was holding, "Chocolate cake, Takeru's got a sweet-tooth."

Breakfast then continued in amiable silence.

Aoi Natsuhi, was a psychology major in School of Humanities and Social sciences at Waseda University, where Yamato studies Modern Mechanical Engineering in the School of Science and Engineering. She is also, coincidentally his band-mate. The Teenage Wolves had disbanded after they stopped being teenagers and Yamato retired from the limelight to enjoy music on a more intimate level.

Now, he was just another college student in the music circle at school that occasionally played with friends. He had greater dreams now, while music soothed his soul, his heart longed to see the world in its entirety…he longed for the outer-space. But this new dream is a discussion for another day.

The two not meet through college however, in fact it was not even him that stumbled upon her, it was Gabumon.

It was a routine visit from the Digital World, Gabumon had come to stay for a few days, and as ran down the streets, backwards, relishing the new-found freedom from house-arrest, he ran into the girl. Her first reaction, instead of screaming or apologizing was to grab the startled Digimon and ask for an interview. Unlike most college students who had normal part-time jobs such waitressing or working at the convenient store, Natsuhi was a journalist. She paid her bills writing articles for popular lifestyle magazines. Her job perks often spilled over to him, granting him access to intriguing new cafes and restaurants (great for dates with Sora) and on occasion paid trips to unknown valleys in the country.

She was aloof though, so very aloof, but somehow he always knew that hidden beneath the surface was someone more vibrant even though she never showed him. Somehow, he just knew. Because he was once like her, hiding behind self-made walls. Her walls are not perfect though, and every now and then when they banter, or when she sees something new and exciting, her inner-self peeks through. One day though, Yamato swore, he would see her true self in its entirety.

Taking down the last of the notes, Yamato ran through the topics covered in the lecture yet again. He had become rather studious after deciding on his career and took his classes seriously. In contrast, he turned to look at the girl spinning her pen indifferently at the back of the class, Natsuhi did only what was necessary for her to get-by. Then again, she was very good at what she does, reading people and counselling them. Classes did not really do much for the girl, although when a subject interested her, she could apply herself with alarming finesse. He would know, she went from knowing nothing about the digital world to knowing more than he did about Gabumon's digital composition just because Digimons fascinated her.

Shoving his books into his backpack, he was about to call out to Natsuhi before his phone vibrated in his pocket. Pulling it out, he quickly opened the message tab and read. 'Taichi and I are waiting for you at the front gate! 3' Yamato ran his fingers through his hair, annoyed. Of course Sora was with Taichi…he told himself not to read too much into the situation. They both studied in the School of Political Science and Economics, the both majored in Global Political Economy…it is only natural that they are waiting for him together. It is no different from him and Natsuhi sharing the same Socio-cultural lecture. Shaking his head to calm himself down, he made his way out of the lecture hall, Natsuhi trailing behind him dutifully behind him.

The scene that greeted them two at the school gate was something Yamato really did not need to see, it was nearing summer and the heat in Japan was getting intolerable, so of course Sora was wiping sweat off Taichi with her hankerchief, the perfect vision of a dutiful girlfriend…except she was Yamato's girlfriend.

Natsuhi resisted the urge to go bang her head against a wall, hard, as she looked at the blind trio before her. The three really needed to sort themselves out. Purposefully staying several paces behind Yamato so as to appear completely platonic, she walked up to greet the other two digidestined. "Hi Yagami-san, Takenouchi-san," she nodded at the two.

"Natsuhi-san, there's no need to be so polite with us," Sora waved off her stiff greeting with a warm smile, as if she was not just flirting with the brunette next to her 5 minutes ago. Yamato fist-bumped his best friend before reclaiming his rightful place next to the red-head, putting his arms around her almost possessively. Natsuhi saw Taichi tense at the action and sighed, this is going to be a long evening.

As the three childhood friends walked to Taichi's house, where the gathering was being held, Natsuhi hung behind, left out. There really was not much she could contribute to the conversation they had though, about their adventures in the digital world, which she hasn't even seen, much less been to. She knew that this pattern would continue at the gathering, all of them talking about a topic she could not participate in. Oh the stupid things she did for love.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Crazy long chapter ahead. I would recommend going on YouTube to listen to the songs mentioned in the story, it will add to the mood. =D**

**Disclaimer: For all the love I have for Digimon, it is not mine.**

Taichi's parents had gone on a honeymoon, so the house was theirs for the night. The remaining digidestined had already arrived and was waiting on the final three before starting the party. While the three all-but ran into the house, to warm greetings, Natsuhi wordlessly took off her shoes, and while she was at it, arranged everyone else's. Mentally prepared to be ignored for the rest of the night, Natsuhi was startled when another blonde greeted her with a warm smile.

"Ah, Natsuhi-nee! I didn't know you were coming", Takeru said brightly. Where Takeru was, Hikari is never far away, "Oh, Natsuhi-sempai! Long time no see, how are you?" As if on cue, Hikari emerged from the crowd to greet the taller girl.

"Your brother said you could use some cake, so here I am, delivering cake," Natsuhi held up the plastic bag where the chocolate cakes were kept.

"Maa!" Hikari clapped her hands together happily, she had heard stories of the addictive chocolate goodies that Natsuhi made from Takeru but never had the chance to try one.

"Onii-chan no baka," Takeru muttered, not liking the fact that his sweet tooth had been made public knowledge, but his shining eyes betrayed his joy and Natsuhi could not help but ruffle his hair, though the boy was a good head taller than her.

"You're so cute," she teased and walked into the house, the young couple following behind her closely.

It was funny, how Takeru would refer to her as 'big sister' and not Sora, though the other girl was who his brother was dating. She met the blonde's equally good looking younger brother when Yamato told him that his younger brother needed a third-person perspective on his relationship problem. It turned out, Hikari and Takeru had been dating in secret and was wondering on whether or no they should break the news to the rest of the digidestined, despite knowing about Daisuke's feelings for Taichi's younger sister. Natsuhi had offered her expert opinion to the young couple, and since then whenever either Takeru or Hikari had problems, they would consult her, hence began the strange sisterly relationship she had with the younger siblings of Yamato and Taichi.

Polite greetings washed over her as she walked into the living room where everyone was helping themselves to food. No one questioned why she was there, mainly because this wasn't the first time Yamato had brought her along. The first time was for the sake of her article, since then everyone had gotten used to her random appearance, and since she always brought peace offering and never got in their way the way Daisuke's sister would, they generally welcomed her presence. Natsuhi picked the most inconspicuous corner of the room, where Joe was sitting and helped herself to an Onigiri. Might as well get some people watching done since she was going to have nothing to do for the next few hours. As Yamato was part of what she called the 'core' of the digidestined, there was no way he had time to look after her, and it wasn't as if she was invalid anyways.

She was not particularly close to the rest of the digidestined. Yamato had made the effort to help her become friends with the rest of the group but with little success. Joe was put off by her indifferent aura, Koushiro had always been awkward with strangers to begin with and computer science wasn't exactly Natsuhi's forte. Mimi's found her scary and the younger girl's bubbly personality gave Natushi a headache. Ken stayed away from the older girl mainly because she had the same mysterious aura his elder brother had, Iori was just plain quiet to begin with, Miyako gave her a wide berth simply because Ken did and Daisuke… Daisuke's direct and brash personality made him a lot of fun for Natsuhi to mess with, but out of principal, she resisted the urge to mind-fuck the young boy and so kept considerable distance from him.

She ate in silence, answered questions when they were directed at her (rarely), participated in games when asked to and generally played the role of a polite guest until the party had died down as everyone became tired. The trains had stopped running a long time ago and everyone agreed to sleep-over at the Yagami house. But it was an awkward time, too early to go to bed but too late to play anymore games. It was then that Takeru made the stupid suggestion, "Onii-chan, why don't you and Natsuhi-nee play us something?" The rest chimed in agreement at the suggestion and Yamato agreed. Except there was one tiny problem.

"I don't have a guitar in my house," Taichi said from his seat next to Sora, who was leaning against Yamato sweetly. The room fell into silence. "Well I could sing acapella," Yamato offered. Natsuhi raised an eye-brow at his suggestion, not that the blonde's voice was bad, but the songs he favoured would sound weird without instrumental accompaniment.

"Oh!" Hikari got up from her seat next to Takeru and ran to a corner of the living room. Everyone watched with curiosity as she pulled the cloth off what seemed to be a cabinet. Below the cloth was an old piano. "Mom used to play the piano, but she doesn't play anymore," she explained.

Yamato did not know what to do, looking at Hikari's enthusiastic expression. For all his musical talents, he did not know how to play the piano. Natsuhi looked at Yamato's troubled expression and sighed before getting up.

"Natsuhi?" He asked. Ignoring his query, she walked towards the piano, opening it and ran her fingers down the keys. Good, it was in tune. "You play?" Yamato asked in surprise.

"You don't know she plays?" Was Taichi's piped up from the side.

Natsuhi pulled out the chair and made herself comfortable before replying either question, "Yes I play, but don't expect anything fancy. I only know enough to play chords, and no Yagami-san, he wouldn't know because until today, I haven't told anyone I can play the piano. Doesn't go well with the drummer image," she explained.

Yamato nodded dumbly, chords were enough; that is all he needed to sing. "Lets get started then," Yamato said, and untangled himself from Sora to move next to the piano, Natsuhi's sharp glance deterred him though.

"Just sit there, they can hear you better anyways," she said. He nodded at the order and sat back down.

"So what song do you want to do?" Natsuhi asked as she familiarized herself with the keys.

Yamato ran through the song list in his head, but before he could say anything, Mimi piped up excited.

"Oh my gosh, do you guys know _Please Don't Go_?" She asked eyes shining with anticipation.

"The one by _Shinee_!?" Miyako echoed.

"Yes! Oh gosh you know them too!" Mimi exclaimed, and just like that the room dissolved into fangirl squeals. The respective boyfriends of the two girls shot apologetic grins at everyone else, who laughed at the display. K-pop was a big thing, the band occasionally covered them as well.

Natsuhi hummed the song to herself and tried to figure out the chords on the piano, she knew the song, but whether or not Yamato did was a mystery. She wasn't a particularly huge K-pop fan, but the song's lyrics hit too close to home for her to ignore. It had become her go-to song whenever Yamato slept over.

Never the one to disappoint, Yamato hummed a few chords of the song, "It's this one yes?" He remembered hearing it on Natsuhi's iPod several times.

"Yes! Oh my gosh you know the song! I think I can die happy now," Mimi swooned. She had always loved Yamato's voice. Before Yamato could even say that he did not know the lyrics, she tossed him her phone which had the lyrics written in Katakana.

Natsuhi allowed herself a small grin at the situation, earning her a playful glare from Yamato. "So we going to do this one cold?" He asked her. They had never done the song before and he had never sang with her on the piano, ever. This was going to be interesting.

"At worse we mess up and try again, you don't mind right Mimi-san?" Natsuhi asked the pinkette. Mimi shook her head furiously, "Of course not! I'm dying from happiness at the fact that you guys can even play this song!" At her reply, Natushi shrugged at Yamato who sighed resignedly.

"2 bars introduction, my key?" He asked. Natsuhi played the chords experimentally to let him get a feel of the key. Yamato hummed along for a bit and once he was comfortable, he nodded.

Taking a deep breathe, Natsuhi let the music flow from her fingertips. The sound of the piano quietened the room almost immediately and soon Yamato's soothing vocals joined in. Natsuhi closed her eyes and let Yamato's voice take away, his voice had matured over the years and now had a slightly husky timbre to it and was particularly soulful whenever he belted notes. She sometimes wondered if rock was really the best genre for him when he sounds absolutely breaktaking doing ballads and soul. As Yamato's voice rose with the piano into the second chorus, he was startled when another voice joined his, harmonizing the chorus.

Everyone turned to look at the new voice, Natsuhi. Sensing the eyes on her, she turned out without stopping her playing or singing, and jerked her head towards Yamato in a 'yea?' gesture. Yamato was annoyed, oh great, now she sings too, why did she never tell him? But that did not mean he was going to stop singing, besides the new musical prospect excited him, he had never sang with her before, this was going to be fun. With teamwork honed over years of jamming together, he knew instinctively which lines to leave her and vice-versa, it wasn't hard anyways, as the song was originally a duet. Yamato took up the lead and let Natsuhi's rich voice fill in the rest.

The two sang out the last note of the song and Natsuhi let her fingers linger on the final note a little longer before letting up the pedal.

"Well that was fun," Natsuhi smirked.

"Oh my god…that was amazing," Mimi breathed out. Then after a moment she started strangling Koushiro in frustration, "I can't believe I didn't record that!" The room dissolved into laughter once again.

"What else do I not know about you?" Yamato asked accusingly as the laugher died down.

"Now what fun would it be if I told you?" Natsuhi replied with a smirk, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

The conversation had evidently taken a flirtatious turn, and Yamato could not help but blush, the rest of his band knew, but the digidestined didn't, he had always found Natsuhi hot when she wore that look.

The room looked at the two, sensing a different air in the air and waited with bated breath to see how it would play out. Sora shifted uncomfortable in her seat, and Taichi reached out to place a comforting hand on hers.

His gesture did not escape Natsuhi's eyes and she knew that she had to run damage control. Withdrawing back into her steely persona, she changed the topic, "Any other requests?" The atmosphere in the room returned to normal as everyone discussed their song requests. As that was going on, two actions took place simultaneously.

Taichi withdrew his hand and Yamato wrapped his arms around Sora and nuzzled her reassuringly. Natsuhi turned away from the display, as if to experiment with more chords, but in reality she was just did not want to see the couple's display of affections. Yes she was more aloof than most, but that did not mean she did not feel things. It just meant she was better at not showing her feelings.

Takeru and Hikari had always suspected, but never said anything. The two had always been more perceptive than most, and Hikari had almost followed Natushi's footsteps to become a psychologist before she decided that her passion laid more in teaching children. It was her who first suspected that the older girl had feelings that went beyond friendship for her boyfriend's brother. It was not very obvious, and you had to squint to see the clues at all, but they were there. The display just now had practically confirmed their suspicions, yes Natsuhi was in love with Yamato.

Now, it was not in either of their personality to meddle. Which is also why the love triangle between Taichi, Yamato and Sora was still ongoing. But both teenagers felt that they owed the older girl to help nudge the blind digidestined of friendship to see beyond his crest for once. Who knows, maybe this will also finally resolve the love triangle that has been 7 years in the making.

"Well, why don't you sing something Natsuhi-sempai?" Hikari asked over the noise of discussion. People in the room all made different agreeing noises at the suggestion.

"Yea, sing something and I'll call it even," Yamato threw out, evidently still put out that he didn't know about his other best friend's secret talents.

Instinctively, Natsuhi wanted to banter with Yamato again, he was practically asking for it. But one look at the red head in his arm, she decided against it, it wouldn't do any good to upset her. It would just set off the triangle again, and she hated seeing Yamato's pained expression when it happens. So instead, she opted for the indifferent shrug and waited for a song suggestion.

Hikari grinned, this was the perfect opportunity, the question now is what song?

"Do you know _2NE1_'s _If I were you_ or _Taeyang_'s _Wedding dress_?" Hikari asked innocently. Natsuhi was not so easily fooled though, the more innocent Hikari's eyes looked, the deeper her thoughts went, and she deduced almost immediately from the song choice that the younger girl had figured out her secret. This just was not her day. Takeru caught the flash of annoyance in Natsuhi's eyes and mouthed an apology, really what was Hikari thinking, that Natsuhi would not find out what she was trying to do?

Then again, Takeru felt the same way his girlfriend did. He liked Sora very much, it's hard not to. The redhead had a motherly aura about her, she was dependable, and after all they've been through together, there was no denying the bonds they shared. But Takeru had known, even at age 8, that Sora was made for Taichi. That and he loved Natsuhi like a sister, and in his very biased opinion, she matched her brother much better than Sora did.

"Oh! _Wedding Dress!_ But no, her voice will sound great on If I were you too," Mimi said to herself.

What was going on in Natsuhi's mind however, was the conversation she had with Yamato the night before. Yamato may be blind to a lot of things in real life, but when it came to music, his sensibilities were second to none, and at the same time, music was the only place where she could never lie. She may have dodged a bullet last night, but singing those songs, there was no way she would get off scot free. Truly, all she could contemplate now is which song was easier to run damage control on. _Wedding dress_ hits much closer to home, but it was written from a male perspective, it would be easier to joke it off at a later date. But _If I Were You'_s lyrics was harder to relate back to the situation…

"What is this, a K-pop cover marathon?" Daisuke complained. The sharp looks from Miyako, Mimi and Hikari quickly shut him up.

Before he could complain further, Natsuhi announced her decision. "I'll do _If I Were You_ then," and before anyone could say anything else, she started playing. Might as well get it over with.

The moment the first line left her lips, Yamato knew something was different about this song. Pulling out his phone, he quickly googled for the Japanese translation of the lyrics. The raw emotions in her voice as she sang the song was definitely not an accident.

Natsuhi's voice had always had a soothing, alto quality to it, and now it was raspy and thick with emotions that Yamato was racing to connect with the lyrics. Self-loathing, self-ridicule, pain, frustration, love… He could not shake the feeling that she was singing the song to him, and he was almost never wrong about these things, not when it came to music. 'you are easy to love..' her words from the night before replayed themselves in his head. So he wasn't mistaken…was he? Yamato let her voice drown out his thoughts, he can leave the thinking for later, for now, he will just feel, because he owed it to her to do this much.

The room was quiet except for the piano and Natsuhi's voice that was wrought with emotions. The song slowly approached the end, and as the piano died down to accompany the final lines of the song, Natsuhi allowed herself a soft scoff as she finished the last lines.

'_I wish you could love me, I wish we could be together for just one day, so I can leave you without regret…'_

Let go of him, right. Like that will happen. Natsuhi avoided love like plague for the sheer reason that she was hopeless in the face of love.

In a flash, the song ended, but the room remained quiet. As the magic from the music slowly dissipated, people finally got a hold of themselves. Mimi scrambled for the tissue, knocking empty cups over in the process, "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me…that was so…sad," She said as she dabbed the flowing tears away. Everyone else just nodded as they passed the box of tissue around. The performance was so raw and so real, and though everyone didn't know why, they couldn't help the tears that escaped their eyes. So much sadness, so much melancholy…

Natsuhi felt mildly apologetic, she had just single-handedly ruined the atmosphere of the gathering, but, Hikari asked for it, literally. She watched as the girl stared at her with mortified eyes, wet with tears. The girl had obviously put two and two together and realized that her feelings for Yamato ran even deeper than Hikari or her little boyfriend had guessed. Natsuhi then swept her eyes across the tearing occupants of the room, amused smile tugging at her lips. She had long since ran out of tears when it came to this issue, but she figured it was nice to have everyone else cry on her behalf. She made a note to avoid Yamato's eyes however, there was no way he could have missed the hidden truth in the song, and after baring her soul to a roomful of strangers, she wasn't sure she had it in her to deal with the blonde right now.

The night dragged on, and after everyone got themselves together again, a few more songs were requested, all of which sung by the blonde, some were Yamato's originals and others were typical pop hits. It wasn't long till everyone started feeling sleepy and finally at 3am, the gathering officially ended. The living room was cleaned up with help from everyone and the Yagami siblings helped assign rooms and lay out futons for their last minute guests. Before long, everyone had drifted to sleep, except for two particular people.

Taichi had offered Yamato and Sora his room, with a half-joking warning that if they tried anything funny he would kick their asses. Feeling bad, Sora argued that they could take the couch, or the two best friends could sleep together while she shared Hikari's bed-room, or simply sleep in the living room. The argument had deteriorated to the point whereby Yamato, fed up, suggested that the three of them sleep in Taichi's room, together. Sora and Taichi blushed, hard, at the suggestion, and the argument that followed next was who got the bed. Yamato suggested that Sora take the bed while the two of them guys slept on the floor, but that was shot down immediately. Taichi wanted Yamato and Sora to have the bed, but Sora would have none of it and in the end, all three of them ended up on the bed. Mainly at Natushi's insistence, "So the three of you are ALL going to sleep on the floor, and leave a perfectly good bed empty? Are you guys retarded? Go sleep on the bed, all of you." And so they did, because what difference would it make if they were all going to sleep together anyway, bed or no bed.

Except now, Yamato could not sleep his brain stubbornly replaying Natsuhi's soulful rendition of _If I Were You_ and what it meant. Carefully extracting himself from Sora's embrace, not caring if he hit Taichi in the process (because that guy slept like a rock), he got off the bed, from his awkward position in between in best friend and girlfriend, and left the room to get some fresh air and clear his head. There was still beer left in the fridge, if memory served him right.

Walking into the living room, he carefully side-stepped the other sleeping digidestined, but before he made it to the kitchen, he noted that one futon was glaringly empty. Taking a look around, he realized that Natsuhi was missing, but her bag was still in the room, which meant she hasn't left yet. He knew he had been very selfish, inviting her to the party and not spending any time with her, but it felt reassuring to have her around, and if not for her, the sleeping arrangement issue would probably not have been resolved, or escalated even further. But then, where was she then?

Looking around, Yamato finally noticed a figure sitting on the small balcony. Abandoning his trip to the kitchen, Yamato made his way, instead, to the balcony. Crossing over the many bodies, he finally made it to the sliding door, and paused.

From behind the door was soft singing, a voice that he was now familiar with. Straining his ears, he caught snippets of the song and quickly figured out that it was the request that Natsuhi chose not to sing earlier. Wedding Dress.

The band had covered the song, and because of that, he had looked up the translation so he would be able to emote the song properly. He recalled the lyrics of the song and sighed. So he was right after all.

In the moonlight, he watched as she cradled the bottle of vodka they had brought over along with the cake.

_'I've got no more tears to cry, talking to myself as if it's a bad habit…' _

At that, he watched as she choked on the line and then laugh bitterly to herself. Yamato bit his lip at the sight, he had never seen her so vulnerable or broken. Where was he when she was breaking down like this? She had always been there for him in his moments of weakness…some friend he is. So even though he was the root of her problem, Yamato decided to brave the storm and opened the door to the balcony.

The singing stopped abruptly and the two exchanged looks. And that was all they needed to understand each other, all she needed to understand that he knew.

"So I'm easy to love huh?" He repeated again, tone casual. She laughed bitterly, and instead of replying, she brought the bottle to her lips and took a huge swig. Silence means consent and that's all the confirmation he needed. Letting out a soft laugh, Yamato took a seat next to her, leaving no space between her and himself. He took the bottle from her hands, ignoring the way she stiffened at the contact, and took a swig himself.

"I'm sorry," he said. 'I'm sorry I never realized, I'm sorry for hurting you, I'm sorry I don't feel the same way…' That was what she hard, and her only response was to laugh and snatch the bottle from him. He let her, and watched her next move. She was about to take another sip of the bitter liquid, but then paused halfway as she looked at the bottle then at him, and then she laughed, hard.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, bewildered, but she just kept laughing. Finally she calmed down enough to chug half the bottle and placed the unfinished vodka in front of both of them. Now she was drunk enough to come clean.

"Indirect kiss," She said and gestured at the bottle.

"Ah," he replied.

They sat there, side-by-side, shoulders touching.

"Since the cat's out of the bag, you might as well know. I always check your finished beer cans for the same reason," she admitted with a chuckle.

That he did not know. So that was why she was laughing. It was ironic…and it hurt him to see her so sad. How much he just wanted to hug her and comfort her…but that would just hurt her more, because she was not his and could never be his.

"You know, my shoulder is here for you, if you need it," he said casually.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as the last of her walls broke, he felt horrible for doing this to her, but this was all he could give her.

"Oh fuck this, I've done enough stupid things tonight, what's one more," she said, voice hoarse as she quickly wiped her tears away.

Gingerly, she laid her head on his shoulder, as if afraid to lay weight on it, until he reached out and pressed her head down. The effect was instantaneous, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. There was no sound, only tears and a bitter smile. Yamato thought he could feel his heart breaking in tandem with hers. It must be so painful…and Yamato didn't know any better than to guess that the pain that gripped his chest was probably just him sharing her pain and nothing else.

15 minutes, 20 minutes passed, and the tears subsided. She wiped them away with the hem of her shirt, and a strange bout of silence passed between them. But she was never the sort to let uncertainty live, so she had to defuse the situation.

"I know it's wishful thinking but, I hope nothing changes between us," she said softly and then laughed mockingly at her own statement. Oh but everything has changed already. With a sigh, she amended her statement, "I guess what I'm saying is, my house is still open to you, and you can just ignore all…this," she gestured to herself.

Yamato nodded absent-mindedly. He knew what she meant, ignore her feelings for him, she didn't want to ruin their friendship, and even if it hurts, she is there for him…Touched and feeling sad for her at the same time, he gently ran his fingers through her dark tresses.

"Don't do that," she protested, but with no real conviction. To reinforce that, she did not move away from his touch. "You're just making it hurt more you know," she stated bluntly.

"I know," he replied, and then to exacerbate the issue, he rested his head on top of hers. He felt her let out a shuddering breath as she savoured the bittersweet moment.

"You're such a bastard," she commented, but snuggled against him.

"Maybe if I'm enough of a bastard, you'll stop loving me?" He retorted playfully. But they both knew that was a lie.

Another bout of silence hung around them, except this one was a comfortable one.

He sat there, listening to her soft breathing, savouring the first, and probably the last time, he would be physically this close to her when she was awake. Then he heard her take a deep breath. Just as he wondered why, he felt her head shift and then he felt a pair of lips press against his neck. She then shifted back to the original position, he risked a glance at her and saw a wry grin tug at her tips.

"I've always wanted to do that," she confessed.

"You're strange," he said, and it was true. She's always wanted to kiss his neck? Who does that? "I take it that the alcohol's to blame?" He asked. She nodded. Yes, blame it on the alcohol for shredding her self-control. Then he made a split-second decision and grabbed the vodka bottle, and chugged the rest of it. "Then blame this on the alcohol too," he said.

Before she could make heads or tails of his statement, Yamato turned and tilted her chin up with his fingers. Then looking at her with eyes full of emotion that neither of them could figure out, he kissed her.

It was a chaste kiss, but it felt as wrong as it felt right. The part of him overridden by the alcohol wanted more, wanted to taste her lips, hold her in his lap…he had the alcohol to take the blame now, but he stopped himself. He had hurt her enough for one night, for a lifetime in fact.

She sat herself back upright and shifted away from him ever so slightly so that their shoulders were no longer touching. The moment was over, the night had ended and the case was closed. "You should go back to bed," she said.

"Yea," he agreed, and he got up. He felt himself sway a little as the alcohol hit him, and steadied himself with the door.

"Thank you," he heard her mutter as he slid the door open.

He turned to see her, smiling at him softly. He had done nothing but hurt her. "You're weird," he said for the second time that nigh. She just smiled wider at him. "Good night," he bid her and returned to Taichi's room. Leaving her alone with her thoughts, because her tears had run dry.

Yamato did not know why the scene that greeted him when he re-entered the room even shocked him at all. There was Sora, his girlfriend, cuddled up against Taichi, who had draped a protective arm around her. The scene hurt him, but a lot less that he thought he it would, and wondered if it was the alcohol, or the lingering tingle on his lips.

Well, he could not go back to the bed now, he looked at the futon on the floor and shrugged.

Here is a sleeping arrangement they never discussed. Settling himself on the futon on the floor, Yamato let himself drift to sleep, leaving the couple on the bed, oblivious to the world until sunrise.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: For all the love I have for Digimon, it is not mine.**

**A/N: A big hello to all of you reading this. I would like to thank everyone who read and reviewed the stories. All constructive criticism have been received with heartfelt thanks! I actually rewrote this chapter again after reading the reviews. Even I don't really know what's going to happen, it's quite fun to see the story take on a life of its own. Anyways, please enjoy! **

The sleeping incident was never mentioned again, after that morning, when Sora and Taichi woke up in each other arms, screaming.

"I am so sorry," the two of them apologized. But Yamato just laughed and laughed.

"You're not mad?" Taichi asked, shocked.

Yamato shook his head, of course he was not mad. Hurt, yes, mad? No so much. Deciding to save his best friend and girlfriend some face, he offered them an explanation, "I went to the toilet, Sora was asleep and didn't know any better, so she probably assumed you were me. And we all know what kind of dreams you have," he wriggled his eyebrows suggestively at Taichi. That was all that was needed to set the brunette in a fit of embarrassed rage and the issue was dropped.

Things did change after that night though, especially with Natsuhi.

When Yamato told her about the Sora and Taichi cuddling incident, instead of offering him a logical explanation like she used to, she voiced her blunt opinion instead.

"You should just lock those two in a closet until they come to their senses and then sort this shit out," she said crudely.

Yamato just shook threw his head back and laughed. He wished he had the courage to do that, but that crest belonged to Taichi, he valued their friendship far too much to do that to him.

"So are we going to jam or what?" Natsuhi asked impatiently.

Ever since the blonde found out she could sing, he came over even more frequently, and made her go through his compositions with him. Hell he even composed songs for her now, but she had threatened to rip his balls off if he told the rest of the band about her other musical talents. Yamato knew where to draw the line and promised her that much, besides he liked having a secret that only they shared. And so, jamming sessions at Natsuhi's became a weekly thing.

"Not that I'm complaining," Natsuhi said as she took a bite of her pasta, pasta that Yamato had cooked. "But shouldn't you be spending more time with your girlfriend?" She already saw him twice a week due to band practice, they shared the same socio-cultural lecture and now on-top of that he comes over once a week to jam with her. Natsuhi was of course more than happy to spend extra time with Yamato, as masochistic as it was, but she knew his schedule by heart, and there was no way he would have much time left for Sora if all he spends all his free time at her place.

Yamato, who was picking away at the pasta with his fork, paused to think about the question. He should be spending more time with Sora, why wasn't he? In fact, after Natsuhi's confession, it should be weirder to spend time with her than Sora. But somehow Natsuhi pulled it off. Instead of pretending that nothing has changed, she now openly tells him she loves him and lets him know if he is making her uncomfortable or crossing boundaries. The word 'Awkward' evidently did not exist in her dictionary. This was not about Natushi though, he reminded himself. This was about Sora. He knew Natsuhi was right. He should spend more time with Sora, but it was not as if the woman in question called him up or messaged to ask about him either…still it was no excuse.

"I just don't want to face her," he admitted after a while.

"Why?" Natsuhi asked without missing a beat.

"It's not that I don't love her, it's just, I'm so tired. I want to be at my best when I'm with her, you know what I mean? So I guess, I'm avoiding her now because I don't want her to see me like this," He explained with a long-suffering sigh.

Natsuhi cleaned the sauce off her fork and twirled it experimentally, because Yamato was sighing enough for both of them. She wanted to tell him there was nothing wrong with how he was, but that was both inappropriate and would not help thing. Instead she settled for the truth, even though the truth hurts. "You know, she's the reason why you're like this," she stated as emotionlessly as she could.

Yamato flinched at her blunt comment. He wanted to deny her accusation, defend Sora. But he was nothing if not a realist. So instead, he settled for another sigh and stayed silent.

She hated hurting him, hated it so much, but the psychology major in her would not relent. He needed to see the light. "Don't start blaming yourself for this. It's not your fault, it's her. Her floundering between you and Taichi and not making a call is obviously going to stress you out," Natsuhi said, none too gently.

Dissent bled into Yamato's blue iris at the brutal facts laid before him. "Maybe if I loved her more, if I was better, she wouldn't be confused. It's obvious that she's stuck between the two of us because I'm not a good enough boyfriend," he argued, more to himself than to her.

"Yamato, that's stupid and you know it," Natsuhi cut him off coldly. Not good enough? Him? He treated Sora like a princess. What more does he think he can give!?

"Is it? Is it stupid? If I was better then maybe she would love me and only me. I mean, I am sitting here instead of being by her side, obviously I can afford to show her more love and attention. I can do better than this!" He yelled back.

Anger flashed hot behind Natsuhi's eyes, because what he said totally did not hurt her at all. "Oh really? Then why are you still sitting here then, go to her- "She cut herself off before it evolved into a bitter jealous rant. She took a deep breath and flicked the fork harshly, trying to calm the anger and frustration burning in her veins. Now was not the time her jealousy to rear its ugly head. "Look, I know you don't want to hear this, but listen to me very carefully. . .fault. You are sitting here because you are tired and you don't want her to see you like this. You are tired because, whether you like it or not, you are human, and you have had a very emotionally draining past few months, balancing your relationship with her and your friendship with Taichi. Then there have been these little accidents happening here and there that you have to just suck it up and take it all in, to accept and forgive. Of course you will be tired. As for her indecisiveness…it's not that you don't love her enough, you love her more than anything in the world," getting those last few words out almost killed her, but she forged on, "It's just, you're not-" Natsuhi cut herself off abruptly.

"Finish it," Yamato growled.

"It's just you're not Yagami Taichi," she said in a voice that's almost a whisper.

Yamato's blue eyes flashed dangerous and he fisted his hands tightly till the pain on his palms rivalled the pain in his chest. He turned away from the table, back facing Natsuhi as fumed silently.

She hated hurting him like that, even if it was the truth. However she knew, he needs to face the truth…the best medicines are always the bitter ones… But she was also only human, and so Natsuhi allowed herself this tiny breach of conduct.

Standing there, breathing heavily, Yamato tried to reign in the anger and self-loathing in him. Compared to Taichi he was never good enough…always, always. Even when they first ended up in the digital world, Takeru had leaned towards Taichi instead of him… A sudden weight on his back broke his train of thought.

Natushi had rested her head against his back, on hand placed gingerly on his shoulder. "But you're amazing just the way you are," she whispered softly. Why can Yamato not see that even though he was different from Taichi, he was still an amazing person.

Yamato exhaled, hard, and moved away from her. "I need to be alone," he said.

"Mm," she acknowledged.

He swiped the keys off the counter and stepped out of the house.

As the door was slammed shut, Natsuhi breathed out tiredly, "Well that went well."

The Toyama Multipurpose Park was deserted at night, making it a great place to be alone and think. Yamato leaned back into the bench facing the lake and sighed to the night sky.

He felt bad saying it, but he felt better after fighting with Natsuhi, all the pent up stress and frustrations had finally release. He left the house not because he was mad at her, because he needed to collect himself and not go into the dark place in his mind…the last time that happened…Yamato shook his head to rid himself of that memory. He knew he had some deep-seated, but well-hidden self-worth issues. Normally they were held in check, but whenever love was involved, it would spiral out of control.

The night breeze felt cold against his heated skin and he breathed in the bitterly cold air to help quell the rage inside him. Being angry at himself would not fix anything.

Feeling much calmer now, Yamato stared into the distance and wondered. It was indeed a good thing that he had avoided Sora the whole week. It would not be good for her to see him like this, he never wants her to see him like this, so angry and full of hate. He knew Sora had seen this side of him, but that was many years ago, when Piedmon was stirring up strife amongst the digidestined. Now that she is such an important part of his life, he could not afford to scare her off with the darkness in him…like his dad did with his mom. Much better that he fought with Taichi or Natsuhi instead…speaking of which.

Did he feel bad for yelling at Natsuhi? Of course, but this was not the first time they argued and it would not be the last. Besides, he never has to worry about something as tiny as a fight ruining their relationship. She had told him early on their friendship, with those eyes that stared into his soul that, 'There is nothing you can do that will make me think differently about you. Nothing.' She had seen the absolute worst of him and still stuck around. It was one of the reasons why he chose her place to hide away for the week and recuperate before going back to Sora. There was no stress of having to keep up appearances of any kind. He could just be himself, even the worst of himself, with her.

"Now though, now you're okay. You can go back to her," he whispered to himself. He thought back to Sora's warm smiles, her soft but firm voice and smiled to himself. He missed her so much.

Mood renewed, Yamato got up to walk back to Natsuhi's apartment, he hope she had kept the bath waters hot for him.

"Tadaima," Yamato called out as he stepped back into the apartment. The running water was the only reply he needed and he wondered why she was taking extra-long in the shower today. Then, the light bouncing off the small zippo lighter on the table answered the question for him.

There on the dining table was a lighter, a pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes on the table, with a note nestled under it. He shook his head slowly as he laughed, so that was why she was only just getting in the shower.

Yamato picked up the note and read the messy script scrawled on it.

'If my house ends up smelling even faintly like tobacco when you are done, I will rip your balls off, or break your bass. Actually, I'll do both. And put your clothes straight into the washing machine once you are done, I don't want the smell getting on my hamper.'

Chuckling, Yamato grabbed the lighter and packet and walked towards the balcony.

Closing the door behind him, he allowed himself a sad smile as he broke into the unopened box of cigarettes. Just another thing Sora would not appreciate.

He was not addicted to smoking, he almost never smoked. But he his dad chain smokes like it is his job, there was no way he would grow up unaffected by that. In all honesty, Yamato was not particularly fond of the taste of smell of Tabaco, but after his father had offered him one during one of his really bad slump a few years back, it had become a ritual to smoke a cigarette after some a patch.

He still preferred alcohol for company in his times of misery of course, but today's bitterness tasted more like cigarette smoke than the sharp notes of whisky, so that was what he will be having. Bringing the cigarette up to his lips, Yamato lit it with fumbling hands. As the fire consumed the tip of the cigarette, Yamato could feel any remaining frustrations burning away along with it. He tossed the still-full box to the side and made a mental note to pay Natsuhi back. As much of a waste as it was, one cigarette was all he needed, the rest will most definitely go to the trash since his dad smoked a different brand.

Taking in another drag of the joint, Yamato marvelled at how Natsuhi had figured out his little smoke-fuelled ritual. It was the first time Yamato realized something was off about Sora and Taichi, not knowing what to do then, he went out and bought himself a pack of cigarettes. Lucky Strike ended up the poison of choice simply because the name had an ironic appeal in his dejected state. He had finished his cigarette by the station before going to Natsuhi's house, bought himself some breath mints and water along the way too, but somehow the moment he stepped into the house, she knew. She never commented, merely raised an eyebrow at him, however ever since then, if they had fights or if he went out to clear his head instead of breaking into her liquor cabinet, there will always be a pack of Lucky Strike waiting for him on the dining table.

As his thoughts came to an end, so did the cigarette, the balcony now reeked slightly of Tabaco but it was nothing the July breeze would not sweep away. Satisfied, Yamato pulled off his shirt and walked back into the house. Best get rid of all the evidence before Natsuhi started nagging.

Just as he finished dumping his shirt and pants into the washing machine, Natsuhi walked out of the bathroom, towelling her hair dry as she did. She stopped at to stare at his state of undress, eyes pensive.

"I think we need a rule for this," she stated like she was not blatantly checking him out. Then again, she had seen him half naked enough times that the novelty probably wore off. It was a small apartment and rushed morning showers were definitely the norm.

"What?" Was Yamato's intelligent answer.

"You know I like you," she asked. He nodded. "This," she gestured at his naked torso, "is hence inappropriate. No walking around the house half-naked anymore, not unless it's an emergency like you forgot your clothes or something." She added the last half as an after-thought.

"Okay Ms Celibacy," Yamato teased and reached out to ruffle her hair affectionately.

Her hand and cold stare stopped his arm dead in its tracks.

"Don't," she whispered, a flash of sadness flickered in her eyes.

Yamato retracted his hand, it was one of the new lines she had drawn after her confession… "I'm sorry," he said.

Tension mounted, she knew he did not do anything wrong, he knew that too, but now he feels bad for upsetting her… With a sigh Natsuhi looked up at Yamato with a playful grin.

"Aww, is poor little Yama worried I won't forgive him?" She teased.

Yamato replied her by rolling his eyes.

"Don't be sorry, it's all cool," she waved it off and stood up on tip-toe to ruffle his hair instead.

He swatted her hand away, annoyed. He hated it when people ruffled his hair.

"Oh so it's okay for you to do it to me but not the other way round," he complained.

"Yes," Natsuhi said matter of factly, "Because I love you but you don't love me." She stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Now go shower stinky head," she said as she walked towards her study table, towel in hand.

"Yes mom," Yamato drawled and shook his head exasperatedly, then something caught his eye and he smiled.

The bathroom was still humid from the steam, but that was not what caught Yamato's attention. There, in the bathtub was hot water, heated to the temperature that he liked best.

He knew she would not forget.

Yamato walked out from the warm bathroom and into the cooled living room/bed-room feeling refreshed.

"You took your own sweet time," Natsuhi said without looking away from the computer screen.

"You were the one who threatened to rip my balls off if I came out smelling like anything less than roses," he countered without any real venom.

"Touche," she said, fingers still furiously flying across the keyboard.

"Work?" He asked, had she not finished her quota for the month last week?

"Give me a sec…okay got it," she said and she snapped her fingers with flourish.

Yamato looked at her with curious eyes.

Natsuhi hammered away on the computer a few seconds more before the printer buzzed to live.

A few moments passed as the printer worked to get the paper out and when it did, Natsuhi pulled it off the press so fast, Yamato was shocked that the paper did to tear.

"Here are your tickets for two for Tokyo Disney Sea, dated for tomorrow, and this is your hotel reservations for two for Hotel Miracosta for tomorrow night. Please don't lose this, you have no idea how hard it is to get discounts on last minute bookings. Now, for dinner, I recommend S.S. Columbia Dining Room or Magellan's. Try to get priority seating so you can watch Fantasmic in peace.." Natsuhi rattled off with practiced ease. She had reviewed Tokyo Disney Resort enough times to walk through the park with her eyes closed after all.

Yamato just stared at the paper in his hands, stunned.

"Uh…how much do I owe you?" He finally managed after finding his voice.

Natsuhi gave him a pointed look and then sighed with a small smile, "You don't owe me anything, but if you insist. You owe me a romantic date out with that girlfriend of yours. Just, be happy k?" She said earnestly.

Yamato tightened his grip on the paper in his hands as he looked at this best friend and realizing for the first time, just how much she loved him. She just genuinely wanted him to be happy… In that one short moment, Yamato felt grateful and so loved that he just wanted to give her the world to show her how thankful he felt. But that feeling crashed almost immediately when he remembered that he can never give her what she truly wants.

Dull ache in his chest, he reached over with a sad smile and pulled her into a hug, ignoring all protests from her.

Eventually Natsuhi's protests died down, and she gave into the hug. Hesitantly, she wrapped her arms round him and hugged him back, breathing in his scent as she did so. This was definitely violating the new rules she had set up, but she guessed she will let it slide this one time. Besides, she will take whatever she can get from him…

As Yamato whispered his heartfelt thanks into her hair, Natsuhi tightened her grip on his shirt.

Who knew heartbreak could feel so contenting.

**A/N: So some background information in case anyone is interested. All the universities mentioned in this story are real universities, the places mentioned, minus the Digital World are also real. **

**Natsuhi lives at Court Breeze Waseda, which is near Waseda University's campus. (You can find it on Google Maps, address is 2 Chome-2 Nishiwaseda Shinjuku-ku, Tōkyō-to Japan) **

**Also, useless tidbit of information, Natsuhi, Sora and Taichi's faculty is in the main Waseda building while Yamato's faculty is in the Nishiwaseda building. Which is why he spends so much time at Natsuhi's place because she lives a short walk from his campus. The park Yamato sits in the story is actually right behind the apartment. **

**Also for the purpose of the story, Yamato lives with his dad in Odaiba. And if any of you still remember, his dad works in Fuji Television Station, which is a landmark in Odaiba. Even more useless information, Yamato lives 11 stops away from university, which will take him roughly 1-1.5 hours to get to class everyday. See why he just bunks at Natsuhi's? **

**Finally, why can't he stay with Taichi or Sora? So, in the story, Taichi and Sora lives in the university dorms. Now in Japan, dorms work a little differently. If you want to bring guests over or have them sleepover, you need to submit a form and stuff. Some dorms don't allow guests to sleepover, also males are generally not allowed into female dorms. So that's that. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: For all the love I have for Digimon, it is not mine.**

**A/N: Wow, okay...truth be told, though I'm the author, even I don't really know what's going on anymore. I had an outline...and I'm doing my best to write according to it, though I feel like this chapter came out nothing like what's in my head. I guess you either love this chapter or hate it; even I am confused, trying to switch between the mindsets of 3 romantically confused young adults. **

It was just another day at Creative Lounge Mov, freelancers were typing away on their laptops at the bar top while entrepreneurs were holding meetings on the sofas. Amidst soft chatter, light music and the constant typing sounds was Natsuhi, fighting a losing battle against her latest article. It wasn't that she did not know what to write, quite the contrary, she could probably wax lyrical about the sheer deliciousness of Udon at Shin, but she simply was not in the mood to write about rich broth and al dente noodles. Even the light music in the background was grating on her nerves. "Snapping her Macbook shut, Natsuhi made a grab for her phone instead.

"Zero notifications, of course...what was I expecting?" She muttered to herself. It has been a while since she spent an entire day without some sort of message from Yamato. Somehow, the blonde always found something to send her. From the latest products at convenient stores to random conversations about his day, Yamato was always just a message away. Yet today he was miles away, figuratively and literally.

"And whose fault is that?" Natsuhi chided herself. Of course, she had to go be the 'bigger person' and send her not-so-secret crush on a date with his girlfriend! Disregarding the people in the co-working space, Natsuhi gently banged her head against the wooden table she sat at.

"Problems with your article?" A voice sounded from beside her.

Natsuhi shook her head without removing it from the table, trying to dispel the jealousy that was eating at her. "It's nothing Yumiko-san," she replied after taking a deep breath. The red head beside her however, was not convinced and shot her a 'look' instead.

Natsuhi sighed, of course it was pointless to lie to the older woman. Mitsuki Yumiko was Japan's premier love expert and ran an advice column in one of the magazines Natsuhi wrote for. It was only because of the older woman that Natsuhi knew about the co-working space she sat at now. She was doing a piece on the Yumiko for Tokyo Weekender and the interview evolved into a long afternoon chat at Creative Lounge Mov after Natsuhi shared some of her unique insights on a few letters Yumiko received for her column. It wasn't long before the two became 'colleagues', or 'friends at work' as Yumiko put it, given their lack of an actual office.

"You know, you're only tight-lipped about one thing, men," Yumiko stated calmly, wagging a finger in Natsuhi's face.

Said girl gave the elder female a pitiful look; whilst she loved psychoanalyzing people, Natsuhi hated being on the other end of the stick, it did not help that Yumiko was ruthless and blunt. Of course, the combined desire of wanting to get some work done and the need to get the problem off her chest caused Natsuhi to crack.

"Can we at least get coffee?" Natsuhi finally relented. The words 'I don't drink coffee' almost made it out of Yumiko's lips before she swallowed them back in. Natsuhi was finally ready to open up. Nodding to the girl, both women proceeded to pack up.

It was going to be a long afternoon.

And so, over coffee (and tea), the story (with some initial difficulty poured). How they had met, how she had eventually fallen hopelessly in love with him, the night at the balcony, the recent confession, their latest fight and even the situation with Taichi and Sora. At the end of it all, Yumiko probably knew more about the situation than any other living person besides Natsuhi.

Finally getting the entire situation out, Natsuhi slumped back into the plush sofa seat with a sigh. It was judgement time, what would the great Yumiko-sensei have in store for her?

Mulling over the facts presented before her, Yumiko stirred the non-existent tea in her cup, indeed, what sort of advice does this situation call for? "Before I start, someone needs to lock that Taichi guy and Yamato's girlfriend in a closet until they finally crack," Yumiko stated bluntly. Natsuhi, who was taking a sip of her coffee choked.

"Onto more serious matters…You know Natsuhi, sometimes it doesn't always pay to be the good guy," Yumiko stated with wisdom that only came with age. Natsuhi nodded at the statement, she knew…heck that is why she was sitting here, beating herself up. But she couldn't help herself…

Yumiko took one look at the girl and sighed, shaking her head slowly, she continued. "I know you want to be a good friend to Yamato and support his relationship, and you also want to do the 'right' thing and come out the better person in this little drama you've found yourself in. But you know what I think? I think you should fight for your love. You love him and because you love him, you want him to be happy. Now, it's all sound logic until this part. You think Sora will make him happy." At that, Yumiko proceeded to pour herself another cup of tea to let her words sink in to the younger girl before her.

Sitting up a bit straighter, Natsuhi nodded despite all the disagreements that raged within her.

"You know deep down, and don't give me that look, I know you well enough. Deep down, you know that Sora isn't good for him, that she won't make him happy. So really, by trying to support his current relationship, you're doing him a disservice," Yumiko stated bluntly.

Natsuhi's brows crinkled at the woman's blunt assessment of the situation. "But…that doesn't mean I make him happy. He wants Sora, not me."

Yumiko regarded Natsuhi with a rare look of surprise, then smiled to herself. Love does make people stupid. "What you want isn't always what's good for you. And in my expert opinion, doesn't matter whether or not he wants you, heck, it doesn't matter if you make him happy. You obviously love him more than this Sora girl does and that's already a vast improvement. So just go for it. He can't do worse than how he's doing right now anyways." Done with her advice, Yumiko took a long sip of her tea with a self-satisfied smile.

Natsuhi knew that Yumiko was right…but the emotional part of her just refused to listen to reason. It was oh so tempting to actively vie for Yamato's affections…but…

Groaning to herself, Natsuhi's head, for the second time that day, made intimate contact with the table top.

"Easier said than done, I know," Yumiko commented with a wry grin.

Whilst Natsuhi was battling jealousy and self-loathing, Yamato was on the other side of Tokyo (or Chiba, if you want to be specific), having the time of his life.

Sora was beaming brilliantly from his arm as they walked down the tree-lined slopes of Disney Sea, it honestly felt as if their relationship was finally back to the way it should be after so long. A tug on the Mickey Mouse ears on his head broke his train of thought.

"Your ears were crooked," Sora said with a small smile. Overcome by warm feelings of the moment, Yamato leaned in to place a kiss on her forehead, earning him a blush and a gentle shove. "We're in public Yama!" Sora stuttered.

"So?" Yamato grinned, eyes dancing with mirth.

Expectedly, Sora pouted, "Hmph, so what's next?" She grumbled

They still had an hour or so before the night time spectacle and dinner. Thanks to Natsuhi's itinerary, they had managed to get through many of the key attractions, which left them without much to do. "Well, we can always find a secluded place somewhere and…" Yamato trailed off suggestively.

Catching his drift, Sora's face immediately turned red. "What? Here? We can't..the kids…Yama-chan no baka!" Embarrassment turning into frustration, Sora smacked Yamato on the arm.

Laughing to himself, he grabbed the red head's arm and pulled her into a tight embrace. She is still so adorable and easily teased, unlike a certain someone… "I'm just kidding," he whispered into her hair.

Still blushing Sora looked at the giggling passer-by and stammered, "P-people are staring."

Yamato tightened his embrace in reply, "Of course they are, I have the most beautiful girlfriend in the world."

Never good with compliments, Sora just blushed harder and remained silent. Sensing that he may have crossed a line, Yamato finally let her go. "How about we go buy ourselves some popcorn, find a good spot to watch the show and catch up on each other's week?"

Happy with the suggestion, Sora nodded and let Yamato pull her towards their destination, feeling more than just a tad guilty. She had spent the week hanging out with Taichi, she had a good excuse of course; they were working on the same project for school. But she knew how uncomfortable it made Yamato feel whenever she brings up Taichi's name no matter how hard he tries to hide it. It did not help that a small incident happened only a few days ago at Tennis practice.

_Flashback_

_ "Sora! Your boyfriend is here to pick you up again!" Yelled a random teammate of hers. Stopping her packing, Sora looked around for a familiar head of gold but found none. _

_ "You're so lucky to have your boyfriend come pick you up all the time Sora, he even brought you drinks and snacks!" Said another girl. _

_ Sora looked back at her teammate, confused. Yamato rarely showed up at practice, if ever, although he always went to support her at competitions, mainly because it clashed with his classes. The only person who ever consistently visited her at practice was… _

_ "Hey! Thought I should pick you up from practice since it's so near my dorms anyways. By the way here's a drink, you like this brand of ice coffee right?" The digidestined of courage said with a sunny smile as he pulled out the drink from the plastic bag. _

_ "Aw! That's so sweet, I wish I had a boyfriend like that!" Squealed some of the juniors who were standing around watching the scene unfold. _

_ "It's not, he's not-" Sora scrambled to explain Taichi's relationship with her. But the brunette just smiled and waved as he gently pulled her out of the courts, her tennis bag across his shoulder. _

Yamato probably would not need to hear that story, Sora thought mostly to herself as Yamato brought her to the pop corn stand. "You alright babe?" Yamato asked as he noticed his girlfriend spacing out.

"Huh? Oh yea, sorry, I was just thinking," Sora replied, startled. Thankfully, Yamato did not pursuit the matter and instead set a bag of warm popcorn in her hands.

"Sorry, they didn't have the coffee flavoured one today, I know that's your favourite. I hope caramel is alright?" Yamato apologized.

Sora nodded numbly, why did Yamato have to be so sweet to her. Why did both Taichi and Yamato have to be so sweet to her? Subconsciously, Sora furrowed her brow at the situation at hand.

"Babe?" Yamato asked again. "Did you want something else? I can run down to buy something else if you want," He quickly added, worried.

Shaking her head to clear her mind, Sora plastered on her brightest smile, "No no, it's okay! Caramel is fine! I was just thinking if I closed the windows at my dorm or not, sorry to worry you."

Yamato nodded, accepting her excuse and Sora heaved a sigh of relief. When did everything get so complicated?

Thankfully the rest of the date went by without a hitch, the show was amazing and had wiped all unhappy thoughts from Sora's mind. Owing to that, dinner was a wonderful and romantic affair that naturally led up to the intimate post-dinner activity.

Yamato brushed a stray piece of hair from that had fallen over his girlfriend's face. He looked at the girl pillowed across her chest with a smile. He had done a good job, she was content and happy. She deserved so much more of course, but at least for today, he felt that he had at least done enough for her.

Untangling himself from her, Yamato grabbed his phone and walked towards the balcony to enjoy the night breeze and the stunning scenery. He really needed to thank her Natsuhi for all this. "Yama?" a soft voice called out as Sora padded her way next to the blonde.

"Take a picture with me?" He said, smiling despite himself at the sleepy and naked form of his girlfriend.

"At least let me wear a shirt!" Sora whined playfully at his request. Shaking his head with a smile Yamato pulled off the shirt he pulled on but moments ago and tossed it to her. Sora caught it and pulled it on, letting the shirt hang off her as a dress.

"You look beautiful," Yamato said to her, once again earning himself a blush from the girl. Pulling her close, he snapped a picture of them, lights of Disney Sea glowing in the background. Habitually, Yamato tapped the messaging app and clicked on the chat with Natsuhi. It was practically routine for him to share every and any photograph he takes with the girl. He remembered her complaining that Instagram existed for a reason, and she did not need photographic evidence of every moment in his life. And so, without thinking, Yamato sent the picture, along with his heartfelt thanks to Natsuhi.

"Won't she be annoyed?" Sora piped up from beside him.

"Huh?" Yamato looked at his girlfriend in confusion.

"Natsuhi, won't she be annoyed? The picture seems a little 'TMI'. Besides it's like…2am in the morning," Sora craned her neck to catch the time on the clock.

"Well, she is the mastermind who made all this possible. And she threatened to have my head if we didn't have a great day out." Inwardly, Yamato breathed a sigh of relief, Sora wasn't jealous that he just sent Natsuhi a picture of them…Sora hadn't found out about Natsuhi's feelings for him. At that thought, Yamato paled.

Maybe he shouldn't have sent that photo after all.

It was 2am by the time Natsuhi pulled herself together enough to finish the article she took on so Yamato could go on his date in Disney Sea. Yawning, she was about to head to the toilet until her phone vibrated for the first time that day.

Not bothering to contain her excitement, Natsuhi dove for her phone, and true to her expectations, it was a message from Yamato. Without thinking, she opened the message only to see a photograph of the happy couple staring back at her.

"Fuck," she swore without thinking and tossed her phone onto her bed. Well that just didn't hurt at all.

Dragging herself to the toilet, Natsuhi kept taking deep breathes. She would not cry, she would not. This was what she wanted no? For Yamato to have a romantic date out with his girlfriend? For Yamato be happy?

"Well he's happy alright," she muttered bitterly as she braced herself against the sink. Mechanically, she turned on the tap, trying in vain to continue her nightly ritual. One look at herself in the mirror however, had her stopping short again. She hated that look on her own face, the look of jealousy, of weakness. Damn it, she was better than this!

'It doesn't always pay to be the good guy.' Yumiko's words echoed in her head. Natsuhi shook her head to clear the voice out. But what choice did she have?

If she tries to be the good guy and support Yamato, although outwardly it may seem like she is a great friend and the better person, it doesn't change that inwardly, she is bitter and jealous of him and Sora's happiness. It didn't change that every time she saw them happy together, all she wants is for things to go wrong, for them to fight and break up. She loved Yamato, she should be happy as long as he's happy, he is happy now, so why is she feeling so miserable? Why is she such a terrible person that she can't even feel happy for him?

It's not that Natsuhi hadn't thought about doing the reverse, dissuading Yamato from the relationship and actively try and get him for herself. But what would that achieve? She will be breaking up her best friend's relationship for a selfish reason…Yamato will be miserable and sad; at worse, she could stand to lose him, even as a friend, forever. That last thought sent Natsuhi spirally down even darker paths. She was such a coward, so weak, that she won't even take the risk of losing him to pursuit him. Even when she knew that he deserved better than Sora.

"I just can't win can I?" Natsuhi said to herself with a bitter laugh. Either way, she's a despicable person. If that's the case then, she'd rather at least TRY and do the right thing, even if it was only outwardly, and be there for Yamato.

Rationally, Natsuhi knew that she was being stupid, but emotionally, once the self-loathing starts, it doesn't really end. She felt Yumiko's advice from earlier in the day try to battle out her dark thoughts, but Natsuhi was too tired to think anymore.

"God dammit why am I so fucking weak." She spat out.

"Why can't you just be happy for him?" "Why can't you even think rationally?" "Weak, so weak." The voices in her head echoed and she whimpered pathetically until finally, she snapped.

Robotically, Natsuhi walked towards the alcohol cabinet in her room, the cabinet she had been trying so hard to stay away from the whole day. There was class tomorrow but…, "Fuck class." She growled. Before she met Yamato, she only attended enough classes to pass anyway.

As she picked her poison, a tiny part of her rational side continued its futile tug-o-war against the looming self-hatred that threatened to consume her, tearing her into two.

Stop, she just wanted to make it all stop now. All the thoughts, the voices, the hate, the pain…

Unscrewing the cap of the Suntory Whiskey, Natsuhi briefly wondered if Yamato knew what this cabinet of alcohol was for. 'Probably not,' her mind answered for her. She started this cabinet because of him, just like how she went to class because of him… Before her thoughts could go any further, she tipped the bottle back, allowing the liquid to burn down her throat.

Dry and bitter, that's what tonight's heartache tasted like.

Natsuhi woke up with a pounding headache and swore. Grabbing her phone to check the time, she let out yet another curse as her phone screen lit up to display the source of her agony, the picture Yamato sent to her last night. He looked so happy in the photo. Eyes shining as Sora smiled shyly next to him, both of them basking unmistakably in afterglow. Add to the fact that Sora was wearing his shirt and Yamato was shirtless, it didn't take a genius to figure out that Yamato had put her hotel reservation to good use.

"Get used to it, get used to it now." Natsuhi ordered herself. Perhaps it was the throbbing pain of her head clouding out her aching heart, but the photo seemed a lot less painful to look at now than the night before. "Be happy for him!" She barked to herself.

Yumiko isn't always right, perhaps Sora is the right woman for Yamato. People change…tears pooled in her eyes as she convinced herself that Yamato was better off with the digidestined of love.

'Why can't he be happy with me!' Her unshed tears screamed in defiance.

Closing her eyes, Natsuhi allowed the tears to roll down her face. There was no one around to watch her cry, she was safe. The psychiatrist part of her snickered at her own plight. She thought she had a handle on her feelings for Yamato. She thought she knew what she was doing, counselling Yamato about his relationship, trying to be the perfect best friend. But really, it's all just been an illusion. She's been losing control of the situation since day one, with her silly little antics, stealing his beer cans, staying up with him, letting him sleep over. And the situation's just gotten worse, with her admitting her love for him and giving into all his little touches.

"I have no idea what I am doing do I?" She said to herself as she pressed the 'home' button on her phone. Placing a hand on her face, she sighed loudly. It was ironic, her, a psychology major, losing control of her own emotions and mental well-being. She prided herself in her ability to straighten out her emotions, to always have them in check, but then again, love made people do stupid things.

Her mind automatically ran through the ways in which she could salvage the situation, pack her messed up emotions into neat little boxes again and keep up the friendship act. Maybe it was the hang over, maybe it was the remnant alcohol in her system, Natsuhi found herself unable untangle the mess of feelings that was her love for Yamato.

"Fuck it all to hell," she groaned, pushing herself up to get some much needed water. As the cool liquid slid down her throat, Natsuhi knew that no matter what decision she made at this point, they'd all be bad ones. She had completely lost objectivity of her own situation. 'Or maybe you never had objectivity of the situation, it was all in your head,' the brutally truthful voice in her head said. Sighing to herself yet again, Natushi stared at the ceiling helplessly. It was rare that she did not know what to do, she always knew what to do, always had control…

"Oh what the heck!" She screamed, and then immediately regretted as a sharp pain shot through her head. Right, hang over. Rubbing her temple with one hand, Natsuhi made up her mind. Things could not get more screwed up than they already were anyways, she might as well take Yumiko's advice and run with it. "All is fair in love and war right?" She whispered to no one in particular.

Since she has no idea what to do anymore, might as well take Yumiko's suggestion. At least the older woman seems to know what she's doing, being a love expert and all. 'Excuses, you've just been looking for excuses to give into the temptation.' Yet another voice in her head piped up. At that, Natsuhi let out a bitter laugh. Great, now she's being dissed by herself. Had she been in a better state, Natsuhi would probably have chosen to psychoanalyze her state and perhaps run a few therapy methods through herself. But currently, all she cared for was to get food, water and painkillers in her system, and then sleep off the bloody hang over. Unfortunately, her phone had different ideas.

Looking at the caller ID, Natsuhi decided that today was just not her day.

"Oh crap, I'm supposed to meet Takeru today."

**A/N: Right. So glad that this is over. Maybe Takeru and Hikari can reinstate some kind of order back into the story. And character development...anyways, please Read & Review! Also, Taiora is coming up in another two more chapters...lets hope I get there. So much to write, so little time. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: For all the love I have for Digimon, it is not mine.**

**A/N: Short chapter because I'm swamped by work. R&R!**

It was routine of the brothers to eat dinner together at least once a week and Yamato was never more grateful for it. After sending Natsuhi the photo of him and Sora the night before, she was all he could think about. He knew that he had probably hurt her terribly with that picture…it was just, old habits die hard. He had always shared photos of him and Sora with her before he found out about Natsuhi's feelings…

At that Yamato felt even more miserable, how many times did Natsuhi have to put up with his insensitive messages?

"Aniki, the water's boiling," Takeru commented casually over the kitchen island. Takeru watched the older blond's mechanic actions with a frown. His brother was not usually this preoccupied. At this rate his dinner was going to be ruined. Walking into the kitchen, Takeru grabbed his brother's hand mid-air and switched off the stove. "What's up Aniki, you're not acting like yourself today." He probed.

Yamato put down the packet of pasta with a sigh. He was that obvious after all. He had wanted to talk to Takeru over dinner, but it seems like food will have to take a back-seat for now. "Do you have beer?" Yamato asked.

Takeru walked to the fridge wordlessly, he always kept some for when Yamato came over. The older blonde took after their dad in so many ways, it was sometimes scary. Grabbing the ice-cold can with one hand, Yamato opened the canned beer with practised ease and walked towards the nearest chair, slumping down into it with a sigh.

Takeru followed suit with a can of his own. He wasn't as much of a drinker as his brother, but beer always tastes better when someone's drinking with you. Pulling out a chair for himself, Takeru waited for his brother to start. It never helps to rush his brother into these things, guarded as he was.

"Where should I start," Yamato said with a sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly as he did. He couldn't possibly just jump head first into the situation. Takeru didn't even know that Natsuhi liked him. 'Love', a voice in his head interjected. 'She loves you.' Oh great, like that made it so much better. Yamato let out yet another sigh, followed by another swig of his beer. "So…there's something you should know about Natsuhi…it's not my place to say but-"

"Natushi-nee is in love with you," Takeru said without blinking an eye.

At that Yamato just stared at his younger brother.

Snickering at his brother's gob-smacked expression, Takeru wondered if Yamato knew that he himself was wearing the same expression just a few hours ago.

_Flashback_

_ Takeru and Hikari waited outside the door of Natsuhi's apartment, armed with food and water as per the older female's request. They were supposed to meet at a new café at Aoyama but when Natsuhi picked up the phone 15 minutes after their supposed meeting time, sounding worse for wear, they knew something was up. Sure enough, something was up. _

_ The door creaked open, revealing a dishevelled Natsuhi. "Thanks guys," she said with a weak smile. The iboprufen have kicked in, but she still felt like shit. Her tongue was dry and tasted like cotton, her stomach was queasy and despite the lack of pain, she could still feel the pressure on her head. "Hangover's a bitch." She quipped as she led the teens into her apartment. _

_ Takeru noted the open window as he took in the fading smell of whisky. The humidity coming from the shower also told him that his surrogate sister had taken a quick shower before their arrival. The question now is, what got into her? _

_ "It's Yamato-san isn't it?" Hikari asked as they sat down at the small dining table. _

_ Takeru turned to stare, wide-eyed at his girlfriend at her bluntness. Natsuhi on the other hand merely stopped to look at Hikari before continuing her actions. _

_ "I'm rubbing off you too much," Natsuhi commented as she dug into the bento box they picked up for her. Not denying Hikari's accusation. A large bite of rice and a huge gulp of miso soup later, Natsuhi decided to drop her own bomb. "He knows." _

_ Takeru and Hikari exchanged alarmed glances and then looked back at the girl. "Who?" "What?" Were their simultaneous questions. _

_ Glancing at the couple with tired but amused eyes, Natsuhi couldn't help the smirk that formed as she answered their burning questions. "I confessed to Yamato." _

_ Takeru didn't know his eyes could go so wide. _

_End Flashback_

"Yes, I know, Hikari does too. We actually found out about it before you." Takeru admitted with some guilty pleasure.

Yamato looked at the younger blonde, part of him wanted to ask how he knew, but then decided against it. His silly man-pride could live with not knowing how his younger brother and his girlfriend knew about his best friend's feeligs for him before he did. So instead, Yamato broached the issue at hand. "Yesterday, Sora and I went on a date…well Natsuhi planned the date…"

Takeru sucked in a breath as his brother started on his tale, it looks like dinner is going to have to wait…for a long while.

"I feel really bad that I hurt her, but I can't give her what she wants. I don't love her," Yamato finally finished with a sigh, crushing the empty beer can in his hands.

Takeru looked up from his empty beer can to stare at his brother incredulously. "You don't love her? Nii-san, you sure about that?" Takeru thought back to his brother's lengthy story. He practically lives at Natsuhi-nee's house. He goes to her more than he goes to Taichi for problems in his life. She is the first person he thinks about sharing anything with, and now he's so concerned that he may have upset her that he could not even cook pasta properly.

"Yes, I do, but it's only as a friend, like a sister." Yamato amended. He did have strong feelings for Natsuhi, just not in the way Takeru wished he did.

"As a sister?" The sceptical look in Takeru's eyes grew tenfold. You do not kiss your sister, alcohol or no. Or did his brother already forget that little titbit of information he just confessed to.

"Yes, like a sister," Yamato gritted out. "She's like family you know. I mean I'm myself with her, I know I can always depend on her. I can joke around with her, chill out with her. It's not like what I have with Sora. I don't think about her all day." There is no romance between himself and Natsuhi.

Takeru on the other hand wanted to clobber sense into his big brother. "Okay, question. And answer honestly, I know when you lie. You need to buy me a birthday present, but you don't know what to get, who do you call?"

"Natsuhi…but that's because she knows you better than Sora!" Yamato defended.

Takeru rolled his eyes, that's how his brother wants to play? Fine. "You're stranded somewhere with no money and no food, who do you call for help?"

"Taichi," Yamato stated flatly.

"And the second person?"

"You." Yamato answered irritably.

"Nii-san." Takeru eyed his brother with a narrowed eyes.

"Fine, Natsuhi. Then you. So what, now I'm in love with Taichi?" Yamato asked, annoyed.

Relenting, Takeru sighed. "Okay, bad question. Here's another one. You came up with a new song, who is the first person you send it to?"

"Natsuhi. But that's because she's my bandmate! And Sora isn't into music," Yamato explained, getting agitated with each passing question.

"You just saw the most amazing concert of your life, who do you call to talk about it?" Takeru asked without pause.

"Natsuhi, if she isn't there already. Then I'll call her to rub it in that she missed out on something so awesome. Look this doesn't prove anything besides the fact that Sora and I have different interests. And it's normal for couples to have different interests. You and Hikari have different interests!" Yamato retorted.

"Yea, but she is the first person I want to share most of the things in my life with, even if it's something she isn't interested in, because she understands me." Takeru argued back.

"I share non-musical stuff with Sora!" The older of the two brothers exclaimed defensively.

"Supermarket has Ohrin Apples on sale, first person you tell?" Takeru fired again.

"Natsuhi. Gods Takeru, these are biased questions. First, we both cook, Sora doesn't. Second, I will by the Apples and bring them to Sora. I'm sorry but you've got this all wrong!" Yamato continued to argue.

Sensing that the conversation was getting nowhere, Takeru just sighed, "You really don't know anything about love do you Onii-chan?"

Onii-chan, Takeru only calls him that when he's upset or when things got really serious. Yamato let the aggression bleed out of him."Not all relationships are the same, even Natsuhi agrees. So my relationship with Sora isn't quite the same as the one you and Hikari have, doesn't mean I don't love her." Yamato stated with an air of finality.

"The question isn't whether or not you love Sora, Nii-san. It's whether or not you love Natsuhi-nee..but you know what, never mind. You obviously know the situation better than me. So can we please have dinner now?" Takeru exhaled. He gives up, his brother was just not getting it. If his brother can't look past his stubbornness to see love staring in his face, that is his problem. Takeru only hoped that the plan that he and Hikari came up with will help Natsuhi-nee get noticed by his brother. Because she has been so firmly friendzoned by him, it was almost painful to watch.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: For all the love I have for Digimon, it is not mine.**

**A/N: Sorry this took a while, I wanted to do the whole Matsuri thing in one chapter but, but work and assessmentsT.T**

Yamato lightly punched Taichi in the arm at the other's lame joke, earning him a mock glare from Sora, who hid her giggle behind the sleeves of her Yukata. Yamato could not help but stare at his girlfriend, an action that is mimicked by Taichi. Not that Yamato could blame him, Sora really did look stunning in her Yukata.

He thought back to when he and Taichi went to pick Sora up from her house and seeing her emerge in the elegant emerald number. It took Taichi a grand total of 15 seconds of gawking before he could stammer out a compliment. As much as Sora used to fight against it, she took after her mom's cultured charm and it showed whenever she donned the traditional outfit.

Sora could not help but blush at the two boys showering their undivided attention to her and tried to redirect their focus, "I think I see Takeru and Hikari-chan!" She pointed to the benches in the distance.

Sure enough, a distinct mop of blonde hair stood out from the reddish hues of the evening sky. Mindful of Sora's small steps (Yukatas were not made to be walked in), Yamato gently guided the redhead towards the direction of his brother, Taichi to his side, chatting amiably.

"Aniki! Sora-san! Taichi-san! You guys are here!" Takeru waved awkwardly at the approaching trio with Hikari following suit.

"Nii-chan!" She waved enthusiastically.

The trio broke their formation as the brothers went to hug (or in Yamato's case, headlock) their respective siblings.

"We got a bench over there so we can sit and wait, Mimi-san said that they'll be a bit late," Hikari informed as took small but quick steps towards a bench in the distance.

As they got closer to the bench however, Yamato noticed someone he was not expecting to see, "Natsuhi?"

Said girl looked up from her phone and tossed him a smirk, "Hey."

Unlike the rest of the digidestined, whom under Mimi's coercion, were all wearing Yukatas, Natsuhi was dressed in a pair of jeans, sneakers and an oversized shirt, hair piled up in a messy bun. Yamato cast the shirt that was hanging off her shoulder a second longing glance. It was a well-known fact within the band that Natsuhi and Yamato shared their wardrobe (shirts at least), and when Natsuhi had shown up to band practice in this particular rock graffiti inspired shirt, Yamato had immediately pestered her for it. Usually Natsuhi would happily give him the shirts and buy a new one for herself, but she shooed him off this particular one. Not that he blamed her, it was a _really_ nice shirt. She promised to buy him one if she ever went to Korea again and so here as Yamato, still waiting for the gift.

Sensing his lingering stare on her shirt, Natsuhi shot him a knowing smirk. Yamato glared back playfully before voicing the question that was on his mind, "What are you doing here?"

Before Natsuhi could reply, Takeru cut in, "Oh, Hikari insisted on inviting Natsuhi-nee since…" The younger of the two blondes trailed off uncertainly.

"Since she thought I could use a social life," Natsuhi continued bluntly.

Hikari stuck her tongue out sheepishly at the comment while Takeru just laughed awkwardly. That was not why they had invited Natsuhi to the matsuri, but it was not as if they could tell his brother that they invited her along so they could match-make Natsuhi and his brother now could they? Sadly their little scheme had not gone according to plan when Natsuhi chickened out of wearing her Yukata, which Hikari took hours to pick out for her.. Takeru cast a look at Sora who was all made-up then back at the comparatively dressed down Natsuhi with a sigh, how was she going to capture his brother's attention at this rate? The slight frown that marred Hikari's face told him that she shared his sentiments.

The young couple's worry did not last long however as the remaining digidestined made their way towards the meeting point noisily.

"Sorry we're late!" Koushiro apologized with a bow while the rest of the group exchanged enthusiastic greetings with the rest of the digidestined. Nastuhi hung back as usual, taking in the scene with indifferent eyes until she picked up an unfamiliar face.

"It's all Wallace's fault, he heard that we were all going to wear Yukatas so he pestered us to get one for him too…" Daisuke complained. At that, everyone's attention was turned to the unfamiliar blonde.

Realizing his mistake, Koushiro immediately stepped up to introduce his friend. "Right, I forgot you guys haven't met. This is Wallace, the friend from America that I told you about, he's a digidestined too." Then looking at Taichi, he continued, "He's the one who tipped me off about Diablomon all those years ago."

Recognition setting in, Taichi pointed at the newcomer and gave him a friendly slap on the back, "So you're the primary school kid who goes to college. I'm Taichi."

Wallace responded with a polite smile, inwardly wincing at the bodily contact.

"He's also the digidestined that we met on our trip to America that time all of you were spirited away," Hikari added. "It's been a while, how have you been Wallace?"

"Wonderful, thanks for asking, you still look beautiful as ever," the American digidestined complimented without missing a beat. Hikari blushed in reply while Takeru just shook his head slowly, apparently Wallace's cassanova ways did not improve with age.

"Nice to see you again too Wallace," Takeru extended his hand at the fellow blonde, which the latter took.

Wallace then turned to greet the remaining members of the group, naturally picking up on the females first. "Oh wow, you must be what the Japanese call the Yamato Nadeshiko," Wallace tossed Sora charming smile.

Sora blushed at the compliment and almost immediately, Taichi saw red. Pulling Sora behind him protectively, Taichi fumed, "She's already got a boyfriend, no hitting on her!" As if to emphasize his point, he pushed Sora towards Yamato, causing the couple to blush.

A brief look of confusion crossed Wallace's face before the same unsettling smile took its place on his face again. "I'm sorry, I was just complimenting the beautiful lady."

Just as Taichi was about explode a second time (with Daisuke egging him on in the background), Yamato placed a placating hand on his shoulder, "It's fine Taichi, he didn't mean any harm, he was just complimenting her." Taichi glared daggers at Wallace and looked like he had to say otherwise but Yamato quickly redirected the topic. "Your Japanese is really good."

"He had a Japanese girlfriend," Daisuke interjected mercilessly, eyeing Wallace with narrowed eyes but the American digidestined just kept on smiling.

"Well it's not my fault the ladies in this country are all so beautiful," Wallace replied with a thousand watt smile, irritating Daisuke even more.

Sensing that her good friend was about blow, Hikari quickly piped in, "Oh yea, Onii-san, you've been learning English no? Why don't you practice with Wallace?"

Daisuke, with his attention span of a puppy, immediately turned to the older digidestined, admiration shining in his eyes.

This time it was Taichi's turn to turn red with embarrassment; if he was going down, he was dragging his best friend with him. "Well so is Yamato."

"Oh, you're both learning English?' Wallace switched back to his native language effortlessly.

"Yea, I'm aiming to get into the Japan Aerospace Exploration agency and Taichi's wants to work in international relations, so we thought it's a good idea to pick up the language. He's actually quite fluent, just really shy," Yamato replied with equal ease and elbowed the brunette.

"I'm still working on my accent," Taichi admitted with almost perfect English.

Yamato shook his head slowly, his best friend's English was just fine, but for all of Taichi's courage he was ridiculously self-conscious about his accent after being called out in class by their anal teacher (who since then have left the language centre).

"Your English is better than mine and I lived in America," Mimi sighed out honestly, earning her an embarrassed laugh from Taichi.

"I think your accent's really cute Mimi," Wallace threw yet another smile her way. Koushiro, having known his friend for so many years merely smiled wryly at his antics instead of taking offense at Wallace flirting with his girlfriend. But not everyone was that calm.

"Mou! Stop hitting on the girls already!" Daisuke all but whined at his good friend.

Wallace laughed sheepishly, "But it's common courtesy to compliment the ladies."

Hanging back in the shadows, Natsuhi couldn't control the smirk that was playing on her lips. The cassanova was obviously continuing his flirtatious ways because he enjoyed perplexing Daisuke. Finally an interesting character for her to analyse. Maybe the evening won't be so boring after all.

**A/N: If you guys watched the Digimon movies (please watch them if you haven't), Wallace (aka Willis in the English version) is the guy in Digimon Adventure 2 movie: Hurricane Touchdown. I took the liberty of making him the same kid from America who wrote to Koushiro in the Digimon movie: Our War Game. So the insider joke, if you didn't watch the movie, is that Koushiro was telling Taichi how this friend of his in America is a primary school student who was already taking classes in college, at which Taichi replied 'Well I'm an elementary school student who takes classes in elementary school'. And yes, Wallace was a womanizer since his childhood days in Hurricane Touchdown, it's not my invention. **


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